


The Young Man and the Sea

by roosebolton



Category: Original Work
Genre: (but not for long), (very briefly) - Freeform, Anal Play, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beach Sex, Beaches, Boys Kissing, Cecaelias, Choking, Consentacles, Drowning, Exophilia, Gillplay, Gills, Goodbyes, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Human/Monster Romance, Islands, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles, Teratophilia, Transformation, technically more like a tentaclejob, the fact that there is a tag for that makes me happy, though it's only brief also
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23991793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roosebolton/pseuds/roosebolton
Summary: While on vacation on a small island, a young man encounters a beautiful, secluded, seemingly deserted beach where the locals never swim.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Saezyel (OC)/Alden (OC)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

The locals had long known to avoid the cove on the farthest tip of the island, the rumors spread in whispers and knowing glances.

Tourists, though, were not always warned.

The island was beautiful, though small, and the guidebook told him it could be seen in a day, so he resolved to see it, and then spend the rest of his time in the resort where he was staying. 

Glancing down at the map in his guidebook, then back up at the road in front of him, he noticed an area that didn't seem to be on the map, and he was nothing if not curious. He looked around to be sure that no one was watching him, just in case it was someone's private land, though it wasn't marked as such, and then quietly walked off the path he'd been on, through the trees. On the other side was a small, enclosed beach, more secluded than any of the other beaches he'd seen on the island. There was a single pier, half-worn by years of sun and ocean, the end closest to him covered in pale sand. 

The sun was bright, glinting off the water, and he had to squint briefly as he walked toward the gentle, lapping waves. 

"Is it possible that they don't know about this place?" he wondered aloud. "The island is so small, they have to know it's here, right?"

He stepped forward, slipping off his sandals, and let the cool water wash over his feet. There wasn't another soul nearby, as far as he could tell, and it seemed enticing and a little dangerous at the same time. 

He thought about it for a moment.  _ I'll have to come back later, _ he thought.  _ Once I've finished seeing the rest of the island, like I told myself I would. There'll be plenty of time tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. _

He put his sandals back on, and circuited the main path around the rest of the island, returning back to his room at the resort. He was tired from the walk, and as he drifted off to sleep, all he could think about was the broken, worn pier and the perfect glint of sunlight on the water in the distant cove.

The next day, he got up early, just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and threw on a pair of swim trunks and a tank top, packing a few things into his backpack. He didn’t see many tourists awake on his way out of the resort, and even the locals who worked there were few and far between. It didn’t take long to reach the secluded cove he’d found the previous day, and it was just as empty as he’d found it then. 

He lazily sauntered up to the water, staring out at the horizon for a while. Parking his backpack on the ground, he pulled out a large, resort-provided towel, laying it out on the sand. He took off his tank top and stepped in front of the towel, tossing his shirt onto his backpack, squeezing suntan lotion onto his hand and applying it first to his face, then to his torso and arms. Looking down at himself, he considered for a moment before slipping his swim trunks off too, since no one was around to see him. He glanced around to be sure, but he still saw no one, and he applied the suntan lotion to the rest of his body before lying down on the towel, the sun slowly creeping overhead, the warmth soaking into his skin. He closed his eyes, enjoying the solitude, the occasional cool breeze, the sound of the gently lapping waves, and the bright sun.

Rolling over onto his stomach so he could tan his back, he didn’t notice the dark, shining eyes watching him from the end of the pier.


	2. Chapter 2

There were a lot of activities to do at the resort, but all he could think about was the little beach at the cove, and the next day he packed his bag and set out again, a little later in the day, the hot sun already high above him. 

He set his things in the sand, removing his shirt, and kicked his sandals off to walk down into the water, which was still cool, but warmer than he expected, considering the vast, cold depths of the ocean. He walked along the right side of the pier, and as the ground lowered gradually, the sand soft beneath him, he walked a little slower, letting his body acclimate to the temperature of the water. The bottom of his swim trunks finally became wet, sticking to his thighs and causing him to grit his teeth against the sudden shock of cool water where he hadn’t yet prepared to feel it.

And then, he heard a splash from the other side of the pier.

He glanced over, expecting a fish or some other animal to have made the noise, but he was startled to see a  _ person,  _ a  _ man, _ leaning on the pier, his body out of sight in the water below.

The stranger had long, dark hair, heavy and damp, falling over his shoulders like a curtain of curling seaweed, and the man’s skin was a deep reddish copper, touched by the sun, several shades darker than his own. His eyes were dark, sparkling in the sun, and he was smiling.

“Hi,” he said to the man, unsure what to say. “You’re the first person I’ve seen out here, and this is my third day coming to the beach.”

The stranger nodded. “I saw you here yesterday when I was swimming here.”

Pausing for a moment, he recalled the previous day, when he’d lain on the beach completely nude, enjoying the warmth of the sun. “I, uh… you did? I didn’t see anyone…”

“I know you didn’t. I didn’t want to interrupt your sunbathing. My name is Saezyel, Saez for short.”

“Ah, so you…” He trailed off. The other man was still smiling, and didn’t seem embarrassed. “I’m Alden. Nice to meet you.”

“How’d you find this place, anyway? I never see anyone here anymore, they mostly keep to the other end of the island.”

“Well, I was following the map that was given to me by the people at the resort, and I noticed that the path had a fork that wasn’t on the map. I was curious enough that I had to have a look, and then I was, well, captivated by this beach, so far from the noise of all the other tourists. I only stayed for a few minutes that time, so I could see the rest of the island, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I came back the next day, and the next.” Alden paused, biting his lip. “Probably wouldn’t have taken my clothes off if I’d known that anyone else was here. How’d you sneak past me, anyway? You weren’t here when I got here.”

“Sure I was. I was in the water, too far for you to see when you walked up. I don’t swim very loudly. Easy to mistake it for the sound of the waves.” He grinned. “I got closer, because I wanted to get a better look at you. And I can’t say I didn’t.”

“Must be a better swimmer than me, then. Maybe you can teach me.”

“Sure am. I could swim before I could talk. I’m not sure if I could teach you to swim, but I’m sure I could teach you  _ something _ if I tried.”

The men looked at each other without speaking for a moment.

“I’d like that,” said Alden, quietly. “Will you be here tomorrow?”

“I’m here  _ every _ day, actually,” said Saezyel casually. “Meet me here when the sun is high, and I’ll see how terrible a swimmer you are.”

Alden grinned. “I’m not  _ that _ bad, just noisy. I’ll never win a swimming race, but I can swim across a pool without drowning or anything. I still wouldn’t mind a few pointers, though.”

“Of course. It would be my pleasure.”

“I should, uh, probably go now. Stupid of me, but I came out here without really eating anything, and I’m just realizing how hungry I am. I’ll have to go back to the resort.”

Saezyel glanced Alden up and down openly. “Feeling a little hungry, myself. Go on, then, and meet me back here tomorrow. And don’t forget to eat breakfast, first. You’ll need your energy, I promise.”


	3. Chapter 3

The resort had breakfast included, and Alden ate his fill and rested for a while, letting his stomach settle, before he packed his bag again to head out toward the beach. The strange man he’d met was still on his mind, and the memory of his dark, sparkling eyes made his heart beat faster at the thought. For all the talk of swimming lessons, it had been perfectly clear that the stranger -- what had he called himself? it was an unusual name… Saez? -- had far more interest in him than _that_ , and he didn’t find the attention unwelcome.

Excited and a little nervous, Alden made his way to the beach, though the sun wasn’t yet at its highest point, so he wasn’t sure if he was going to be alone for a while before Saez showed up, but the moment he walked through the trees onto the beach, he saw the other man waving at him from the end of the pier.

“Hey,” Saezyel shouted, “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

Alden shouted back, “I’m early. I wasn’t sure you’d be here yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer.” 

He heard Saez laugh. “I told you, I’m always here. I couldn’t wait, either.”

Parking his stuff on the beach, taking off his tank top and kicking off his sandals, Alden walked toward the water. “Is the pier safe to walk on?”

“Yeah, just don’t walk all the way to the end. The last couple boards here are a little loose. Nobody ever bothers to come out here and fix them.”

Alden walked as far as he could down the pier, sitting down and letting his legs dangle over the side, his feet in the water.

“Do you wanna come out here, first, or should I just dive right in?”

Saezyel snickered. “No, you come out here. I want to see you swim, remember? Besides, you look a little warm. I think you could use some cool water on your skin.” He grinned, tossing his dark, sea-sprayed hair over his shoulder. 

Alden hopped off the pier and into the water, shocked momentarily by the sudden temperature change. He took a deep breath, then eased his body down deeper into the water. “What kind of swimming do you want to see? Breaststroke? Backstroke?” He grinned back at Saez. “Doggy paddle?”

“Why don’t you show me a backstroke? Just head out toward the ocean a bit, then turn around and come back this way. I’ll come closer to you as you head back. All right?”

“Sure, I’ll do my best. Keep in mind I haven’t exactly had any formal lessons or anything, so go easy on me.”

“Of course.”

Turning to float on his back, parallel with the pier, Alden started kicking, circling his arms wide to move him through the water. He moved quickly, though his leg motions were loud, thunking, without grace, and his arms were similar, noisily chopping through the water as though it were wood.

After he’d gone a few yards, he stopped, treading water momentarily to regain his bearings.

“All right, now come toward me. I’ll stop you if you get too close,” said Saezyel, farther from the pier than he had been before.

Nodding, Alden turned around and began floating again, swimming in more or less a straight line toward Saez, who caught his hand before he could raise it again.

“Keep floating here. All right if I put my hands on you?”

Alden paused, looking at Saezyel’s face, his sparkling eyes, the drops of ocean water running down his face to settle atop his collarbones. “Yes.”

Saez nodded, placing one hand beneath Alden at the small of his back. “I’m going to move with you. The reason you make so much noise is that you’re making motions that are effective, but much larger than necessary. Smaller kicks, smaller arm motions will get you there nearly as fast, and you won’t tire out as easily, so you’ll have greater endurance.” 

_Endurance._ Their eyes met, and there was something electric in that glance.

“Try it. Just your legs, leave your arms at your sides.”

“All right.” Alden began to kick, slowly working up into a rhythm, and Saezyel followed behind, his hand still pressed to the small of Alden’s back. 

“Almost got it. You’re bending your knees too much. Keep your legs mostly straight, but you’re aiming for fluid motion, not kicking a ball. Motion, not brute force.”

“Gotcha.” He tried his best to keep his legs straighter, only bending his knees when he had to, and the motion, without a doubt, became much more fluid, more graceful. 

“See, I knew you could do it. You’re a quick learner.”

Alden smiled, though he couldn’t help but look away. “And… the arms?”

“Same idea, but you’re bringing them down too far into the water. You can keep them just below the surface, and it will help keep you from rocking side to side. Up out of the water, then down parallel to your body.” Saez switched to holding Alden up with his left hand, letting his right hand rest on Alden’s shoulder. “Try just the one side, and let me watch.”

Alden licked his lips, his heart beating so hard he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. “Sure.” He did his best to do as Saez had instructed, not pushing his arm down too far, instead letting it drag just under the surface. “Like this?”

“Yes, just like that. You’ve got it.”

Alden paused his swimming, then, and boldly curled his other arm around Saezyel’s waist. Saez squeezed his shoulder. “Is there something else you wanted?”

“Is there… anything else you’d like to teach me?” Alden moved closer, trying his hardest not to break eye contact with his strange teacher.

“As a matter of fact, there might be,” said Saezyel quietly, and he raised a hand to brush the wet hair out of Alden’s face. He leaned closer, hovering momentarily, and Alden raised his own hand, bringing Saez’s face down to kiss him.

They stayed like that, their lips pressed together, for what seemed like an eternity.

Saezyel was the first to break the kiss. “I should… you should go…” He shook his head, pulling away from Alden. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let things get this far.” Though he wasn’t swimming, exactly, he parted from Alden as easily as breathing.

“Wait, what happened? Did I do something wrong?” Alden asked, bewildered at Saezyel’s response. 

“No, you didn’t. I did. I should have known better. There’s a reason no one comes to this beach.”

“But I thought you… I thought that we… that you…” Alden shook his head, confused still. “Can I come back and see you? Will you still be here?”

“Maybe you should ask some of the locals. I don’t expect to see you again.”

And with that, Saezyel dove under the water, swimming away, and what broke the surface after him was most _decidedly_ not legs.


	4. Chapter 4

Alden was baffled. They’d kissed, there in the water, and somehow, for whatever reason, Saezyel had felt he’d gone too far.

But he _hadn’t._ As a matter of fact, though he was surprised at himself, Alden had wished he’d gone _farther._

Saez had told him to ask the locals about their shared, secluded beach, and the reason why none of the locals ever came there despite its obvious hidden beauty, and he had to admit he was curious.

He asked the concierge about it the next day, trying to seem nonchalant. 

“Hey, I have a question. The first day I was here, I was following this map,” he indicated the path around the island on the map with his finger, “and I noticed that here,” he pointed at the approximate location of the beach, “there was a path that forked off toward the water. But it’s not marked on the map. I kinda just… wondered what was there, since all the other beaches are marked.”

“Oh, you don’t want to go out there. Too dangerous.” The concierge pointed to another beach, on the other side of the island. “This beach is much nicer. Better view. Everyone loves it there, there is even an ice cream stand right there on the water, and plenty of space for tourists and locals both. Better to go there.”

“Too dangerous? Dangerous how?”

“Bad currents. Even strong swimmers have been pulled under the waves, or far out to sea. It is not safe.”

“It’s a small cove, the water was calm. I’ve seen riptides and mean currents before, and it didn’t look a thing like that.”

The concierge stayed silent, at first, looking at Alden, and he realized he’d said too much.

“We can’t be held responsible for what happens if you choose not to listen to the warnings,” the concierge said, quietly. “The pools here at the resort are very nice,” he added, “and there are lifeguards present.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alden felt like there was something the concierge was hiding. If it was as simple as an area prone to riptides, why weren’t there any signs or fences? Why wasn’t he warned? Why wasn’t there a ‘danger’ area marked on the map, to discourage curious adventurers?

There had to be something more to it than that.

He wandered around the resort, looking for someone else he could talk to about the hidden beach, someone who wouldn’t, perhaps, give him the same answer as the concierge, which seemed to Alden like some sort of official statement he was supposed to tell anyone who asked. He considered the bartender, but there were too many people around for him to get much more than a worried glance. He didn’t think anyone at the front desk would be much use.

When he’d almost given up, he saw an older island resident working in the nearly-empty gift shop, and he figured she was his best bet. When she was done with her customer - the only other person in the gift shop besides the two of them - he quietly walked up to the counter, leaning on it.

“Hey. I have a question.”

She eyed him. “Sure, you all do. Have you tried asking the concierge? Or maybe the front desk? I just work in the gift shop. Unless it’s a question about the _junk_ we sell in here, I probably can’t help you.”

“It’s not about the resort. It’s about the island. You’ve lived here a long time, right? Maybe your whole life?”

“Mmhmm, and my mother, and my mother’s mother, and so on. What did you want to know?”

Alden took a deep breath and pulled out his guidebook map, setting it on the counter. “The first day I was here, I walked a circuit around the island.” He traced the path with his finger, as he’d done with the concierge. “But here,” he indicated it, “there’s an unmarked beach, in a small cove, through some trees. The concierge tried to tell me no one goes there because there’s harsh currents, but I know that’s not the case, and he tried to change the subject. I just want to know the truth.”

The gift shop worker leaned back in her chair, sizing Alden up. “You do, do you?” she said, quietly.

“I’ve never seen calmer waters, if I’m honest. And I certainly didn’t get pulled out with the current.”

She looked bewildered, furrowing her brow. “... You went _swimming there?_ There’s a reason no one goes there, he didn’t lie to you about that part, but it isn’t because of any _currents._ ”

“I did. I’ve been there every day since I found it, though I didn’t go swimming until yesterday.”

“That’s a beach where parents tell their children not to go, on account of they’ll disappear into the water and never come back. The kind of place that, too, parents tell their children they’ll get thrown _into_ if they don’t _behave_.” She shook her head. “There’ve been too many drownings out there, and not all of them were children whose parents weren’t watching.”

“Are there not drownings at the other beaches? At the pools?”

“Well, sure, from time to time. But that’s a cursed place. Something _lives_ in those waters, I’m telling you, and it isn’t _human._ ” She closed his guidebook, tapping on it for emphasis. “No one in my family, but one of my little brother’s friends, just barely come of age, he went swimming out there on a _bet_ one summer. He never came back. His swimming trunks washed up on the shore, but there was no sign of him, drowned or otherwise. Something out there, whatever it is, it _took_ him.”

“Are you sure this boy didn’t just… run away, or something?”

She gestured around. “This is an _island._ Where would he have run?”


	5. Chapter 5

Alden couldn’t wait until the next day to return to the beach, and he didn’t bother to bring a bag this time. 

The sun was high above him, and when he got there, he tossed his t-shirt and sandals aside, walking straight into the water despite its shock of cold. He walked as far in as he could while still keeping his head above the water, calling out as loud as he dared, unsure how far the sound would carry. 

“Saez? Are you here? I don’t see anything, but… come out, if you’re hiding somewhere? Please?”

He heard a splash, but still saw nothing but a faint ripple in the water from somewhere near the end of the pier. “Please… if that’s you, come out and talk to me.”

Saezyel’s head quietly rose from the water at the end of the pier, his eyes open wide.

“You… came back?”

“I talked to the locals. Some of them lied. Maybe all of them, I don’t know.”

Saez tilted his head to the side. “What did they tell you?”

“The concierge at the resort told me that people didn’t come here because the currents were dangerous, which is… obviously not true. And if it was, why wasn’t it fenced off from the public?”

Saezyel laughed, a short, sharp bark of a noise, almost like a seal. “That’s ridiculous, the currents here are favorable, kind, better than the rest of the island, even. The open ocean is much worse.”

“That’s what I thought, too. And that’s what I told him, more or less. He just changed the subject.”

“What else?”

Alden closed his eyes, considering how best to explain what the gift shop lady had told him. “Another resort worker, an older one, someone whose family has lived here for generations, she said there are a lot of drownings here. That parents use it to scare their children into behaving. That one of her brother’s friends disappeared here, and all they ever found were his swim trunks.”

Looking up at the sky, Saez nodded slowly. “There have been drownings. That’s not unique to this cove, though. Like I said, the open ocean is _worse._ ” He pursed his lips. “But the other thing… she… really told you that?”

Alden nodded. “Does it sound like the kind of thing I would make up?”

Saezyel shook his head. “No, I guess not. She wasn’t lying about that, either, I… How old was the woman?”

“Probably in her sixties, I think, though I’m not a very good guesser when it comes to that kind of thing. She said the boy was a young adult, so like… eighteen or nineteen maybe, friends with her younger brother.”

Saez nodded slowly, doing the calculations in his head. “That… that sounds about right, yeah. I think that’s the last time someone really came here, at least someone who stayed for longer than a minute or two.”

“Wait…” Alden furrowed his brow. “Are you saying that you _knew_ this boy? How old _are_ you?”

“Older than I look. Obviously.”

“Obviously.”

Something the woman had said clicked in Alden’s mind.

“Wait, she… she said that something _took_ him. Something that wasn’t _human._ Does that… did you... ”

Saezyel rubbed his face. “Alden, she was talking about _me._ ”

“I… what? I was going to ask if the friend was _you,_ somehow, but...”

“No. God, you’re _dense,_ but you’re also stubborn enough to come back here. I knew I liked you for a reason. I’m the _‘not human’_ she told you about.”

“You look human enough to me.”

“You’ve never seen me come out of the water.”

Alden paused for a moment, thinking. “...You’re right, I guess. Do you turn into some kind of scary sea monster when I’m not looking?” He grinned.

He stopped grinning when Saezyel didn’t laugh.

“You don’t think I’m serious. You think this is a joke, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Monsters aren’t real.”

“And I’m telling you, _I’m_ real.” Saez closed his eyes, frustrated. “I can show you. How well do you see underwater? I don’t like pulling my body out of the water unless I have to; my arms aren’t as strong as the rest of me. In the water I don’t have the weight I would on land.”

“I… I mean, I don’t usually open my eyes underwater without goggles, but… I can try…?”

“Let me come closer,” said Saez, and he moved toward Alden, who walked toward him in return, meeting him halfway. 

Saezyel took Alden’s hand. “Dive underwater with me, open your eyes, and you’ll see what I really am.” Without so much as blinking, he sank beneath the surface, and Alden had no choice but to follow, though he quickly held his breath and closed his eyes on the way down.

When he opened his eyes, Alden saw Saezyel’s hair in a floating dark wreath around his head. His eyes were open, dark, staring at Alden, and when he looked down, he saw what Saez must have been talking about. Instead of legs, below his waist, Saezyel was a mass of inky black, gently writhing tentacles, the light glinting off them from above, giving them a mottled appearance. 

They floated there, together, for a moment, before Alden had to climb to the surface and take a breath. Saez rose to the surface, more calmly, a split second later.

“You-- you’re a-- you weren’t joking, I’m-- you’re some kind of… of… tentacle mermaid?”

Saez raised an eyebrow. “I’m hardly a _maid_ of _any_ kind, and anyway, merfolk are _fish_ on the bottom. But something like that, yes. I mean, they’re still _arms_ or _legs,_ technically, it’s just that I’ve got _eight_ of them below, and I can’t really leave the water.” He bit his lip. “I _did_ tell you that I’m always here, and I wasn’t lying. I live here, farther from the shore, far below on the seabed, amid the rocks and the weeds and the kelp.”

Timidly, Alden walked toward him, until they were close enough to touch. He swallowed loudly.

“Can I… touch them? Would that be okay?”

“Hold out your hand.”

Alden held his hand, palm out, toward Saez, under the water. Something slithered into his grasp, and he held onto it lightly, startled, running his thumb over it.

“It’s… I don’t know, softer than I imagined, it’s not rough at all. It doesn’t feel gross or slimy or anything, I…” he momentarily stopped speaking when the tentacle wiggled in his hand, “I, uh… um...”

“It doesn’t need to be _slimy,_ it’s underwater all the time, and--” Saez tilted his head at Alden’s reaction. “You all right?”

Alden took a step forward, closing the remainder of the space between them, and pressed his lips to Saez’s, surprising him. 

“You’re not… afraid?”

Shaking his head, Alden let go of the tentacle long enough to curl his arms around Saezyel’s waist. “I… I think I’m feeling the _opposite_ of afraid, uh…”

Saezyel leaned in to kiss Alden again, his tongue insistent and parting Alden’s lips, and when Saez lightly brushed him between the legs with the pointed tip of one tentacle, Alden gasped into his mouth.

“So it seems,” said Saezyel, his eyes sparkling again, the flirtiness that was evident in their first meeting back in his voice.

“I… uh, um…” Alden pulled back slightly, licking his lips. “I think I’d… um, I think I’d like if if you’d…”

“If I’d _what?_ ” Saez brushed against Alden again, and he squirmed.

Alden kissed him again, whispering against his lips, “Touch me.”

Running the tip of one tentacle up the leg of Alden’s swim trunks, Saezyel paused, but Alden could only nod, momentarily speechless.

“Let’s go toward the shore, then, or else you might lose your footing out here.”

They moved in tandem toward the beach, and there in the shallow water, Alden stumbled, falling backward with a splash. Saez laughed. “See what I mean? But maybe it’s not a bad idea...”

Alden, with a sheepish grin, hooked his thumbs in his swim trunks. “Should I… take these off?”

“If that’s how you want to be touched, I’d recommend it, yes. I can reach you, touch parts of you easier that way.”

Staring into Saezyel’s eyes, Alden tugged his swim trunks down, undulating in the water briefly to shimmy out of them, tossing them behind him onto the sand. Saez crawled toward him, half swimming, half dragging his lower half behind him to rest atop Alden, his tentacles entwined with Alden’s legs in the shallow water. Leaning to one side, he rested his hand on Alden’s cock, never looking away from his face.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, smiling. “You’re beautiful, and I love the way the light dances over your skin as it shines through the water.”

Alden smiled back, dreamily, and put his hand over Saezyel’s with gentle pressure. “I… I don’t know how to um, talk about this, but…”

“Just say it. Don’t be embarrassed. You didn’t seem shy until I touched you.” Saez teased, stroking Alden’s cock lightly. “ _You_ kissed _me_ _first,_ remember?”

“Ye-yeah, that’s true, but…” Alden took a deep breath. “I mean, I’ve never been with… been touched by… someone like you before, and I don’t want to, I don’t know, say something to upset or annoy you, like…” He rubbed his face. “I just don’t want to fuck this up, I guess. Whatever this is.”

Saez raised an eyebrow. “I can’t think of much you could say to upset me. You came back, and I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Just… say it.”

Alden reached down to shyly stroke one of Saezyel’s tentacles. “Your, um… I like how they feel, and I… they seem really flexible, but muscular and uh, thick, and I was, well…” He glanced away to finish the rest of his sentence in one long, rushed breath. “The first thing I thought of when you brushed against me was how they would... how your tentacles would feel around my cock.”

Saezyel let go of Alden with his hand, and shortly thereafter Alden felt a smooth, warm sensation curling around his cock, the pointed tip circling the head gently. The tentacle squeezed just enough to make Alden _really_ feel it, and he threw his head back, his toes curling against the sandy ocean floor.

“Is this what you had in mind?” said Saez, licking his lips. “If it’s not, I can stop.”

Alden clutched at Saezyel’s waist, pulling him in for a desperate kiss. “ _Please_ don’t stop, I… I’ve never felt anything like this before… can you...”

Before he even had the chance to finish his sentence, Saezyel’s tentacle began moving, stroking Alden’s cock up and down, slightly curling and uncurling each time, a spiral of smooth sensation. Alden nodded frantically.

Pressing his lips to Alden’s again, Saez gently parted Alden’s legs with two of his tentacles, and Alden’s eyes went wide, his mouth open in a gasp as Saez pulled away. 

And then, Alden felt the tip of a tentacle against his entrance, and he closed his eyes, squirming against it. 

“Yes… _please,_ yes… let me feel you there, too…” he whispered loudly, punctuating the end of his sentence with a moan as the tentacle entered him. 

“I’ll go slow, I promise. They’re tapered, of course, but… I wouldn’t want to…” Saez pushed the tentacle a little farther inside, “stretch you too quickly, or make you feel any pain or discomfort, so…”

His worries were appeased, though, when Alden did his best to push himself down onto the tentacle, moaning louder than before, his cock still being stroked by another tentacle.

“Please… please fuck me, I won’t last long like this… can you, um… move it inside me, maybe…?”

Saezyel pushed a little more, using his muscles to wiggle the tentacle inside Alden, the tip brushing against his inner walls, and Alden’s eyes went wide each time he was stroked inside and out simultaneously, his body trembling. 

Clutching tight to Saez, kissing him fiercely, Alden came hard, drops of his seed spilling underwater like a chain of precious pearls floating amid the waves.

Gently, slowly, Saezyel pulled his tentacle free of Alden’s rear entrance, then released his cock from the stranglehold in which it had been held.

After a moment, Saez spoke. “Was it everything you hoped?”

“Better than I could have dared dream.”

Saezyel turned to rest on his back, propped up on his elbows, and Alden cuddled close to him, both of them staring off at the horizon as the sun began to set.


	6. Chapter 6

Alden woke up on the beach, facing the sky, in the quiet, early morning hours before the sun had truly began to rise. He lay there a while, listening to the sound of the gently lapping waves. Rolling to the side, he noticed that his swim trunks were tucked under his head. Saezyel was leaning against the pier, staring out at the space between the rocks where the cove met the ocean.

Alden cleared his throat, and Saez turned to look. His eyes were lined with red, as though he’d been crying, and his cheeks were damp, though it was impossible to tell if it was from tears or just the sea-spray.

“You’re awake,” he said, quietly. 

“Didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep out here,” said Alden, still groggy. 

“I pushed you up as far as I could. Didn’t want you floating out with the tide.” Saezyel smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Alden sat up, rubbing his eyes after brushing the sand off his hands. “Are… you all right?” He scooted toward the water, crawling into it to wash the sand off the rest of his body.

“Just thinking.”

“About?”

Saezyel stayed quiet for a moment. 

“You’re… a tourist, right?”

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t live here. Visiting, if that’s what you mean. Not very good at being a tourist, though, I guess, seeing as I haven’t really looked at much beyond this beach and you.”

Swallowing hard, Saez nodded. “When do you leave?”

And then, Alden understood. “I’m…” he thought for a moment, figuring out what day it was, “...I’m supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon.” He looked down at the water. “I was enjoying my time here so much, I hadn’t even thought about leaving.”

Saezyel nodded again, letting his upper body fall into the water with a small splash. “In any case, I… I’m… glad to have met you. Like I told you before, I haven’t had a visitor in a long time. Everyone stays away, and I can’t leave.” 

Alden walked toward him through the water, coming close enough to take his hand, raising it to his lips to kiss. “Tell me about... the boy. You said it was true. Tell me the story.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

Saez took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “It was… years ago, obviously. He was a young man, cocky but naive, who came here on a dare from his friends - a dare, or a bet, I was never sure. In any case, he wasn’t quiet about it, and I couldn’t have avoided hearing the loud splash he made when he jumped off the pier.”

Alden moved a little closer, wrapping his arms loosely around Saezyel’s waist. “Go on.”

“I was underwater when he jumped in, and he happened to see me. His eyes went wide, and he scrambled for the surface. I expected him to run away right then, but he didn’t.”

“What happened?”

“He took another deep breath, and then dove back into the water, swimming toward me.” Saez leaned his head against Alden’s. “He seemed fascinated by my… well, my body. I pulled him back to the surface. I felt him move against me, and I realized he was _aroused._ ”

Alden mumbled something affirmative in response.

“It was… he was a whirlwind. Before I knew it, he was naked, and we were… well, I think you can see where this is going. Anyway, after that, we talked for a while, and… he told me he didn’t want to return to the island. He wanted to become a creature of the sea. Like me. It was all he’d ever wanted.”

“Is that… possible?”

“... There are ways, yeah.” Saez rubbed his eyes, sighing. “And we made it happen. He wasn’t exactly like me, but… he could breathe underwater, his vision was better. We were together, then, under the sea, tangled in each other’s bodies at the bottom of the ocean, sleeping anchored that way every night. I was so happy.”

“But then…?”

“His wanderlust got the best of him. Just like he told me, he didn’t want to return to the island, and he didn’t want to stay here, either. He’d lived on the island his whole life. The idea of living right next to it for the _rest_ of his life didn’t appeal to him. He left me for the wider ocean, and I never saw him again.”

Alden pulled Saezyel close, squeezing him tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s like I told you. I should have known better. You’re not even from around here, of _course_ you were bound to leave. I was just…” Saez shook his head. “It’s… so lonely out here. Fish aren’t much company. You’re the first person I’ve had a conversation with in years, I think. That’s probably why I… let it go so far.”

“Why haven’t _you_ left this place? There’s got to be more… people like you out there, right?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know. There could be hundreds, thousands of us, but there might not be. I’ve met several curious merfolk over the years, and a few others shaped more like me, but it’s been a long time. Sometimes I go out there,” he pointed to the narrow exit of the cove, wide enough to admit two rowboats side by side but not much more, “but I never go very far. Being left alone is a curse, sometimes, but it also keeps me safe.”

Entwining his fingers with Saezyel’s, Alden kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you’re still here. Otherwise I would never have met you.”

“And yet, you must do what you must do,” Saezyel smiled ruefully. “If you… were to come back, though… you know where to find me.”

“I do. I’ll never forget.” Alden pulled back a little, squeezing Saez’s hands. “I should… go take care of some things back at the resort.” He paused. “You know, it just occurred to me… what do you _eat_ out here? Fish? Seaweed?”

“Small fish, mostly, yes. Sometimes I eat seaweed that’s been dried in the sun. Every once in a while I’ll eat other creatures that pass my way. Sea urchins are my favorite.”

Alden’s eyes sparkled. “I’ll have to try one sometime.”

“If I’m honest, that’s one of the reasons I go out there,” Saezyel gestured to the wide ocean, “I’ve exhausted a lot of my… eating options, here.”

Alden chuckled. “I guess anyone would get bored with eating the same thing every day.”

Saezyel sighed. “Yeah. But, you know, it could be worse. At least I have food, and it swims right past me every day. But I wouldn’t mind trying something new.”

Kissing Saez on the cheek, Alden started to walk backward toward the shore. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

All Saez could do was watch him go.


	7. Chapter 7

When Alden got back to the resort, he went up to his room and sat down on the end of the bed, looking at himself in the mirrored doors of the closet: his damp hair, the sun-freckles across the bridge of his nose, the sand that never fully seemed to wash away. 

He heaved a sigh, and began to pack his bags, gathering the few days’ worth of laundry and his bag of toiletries and tucking them into his suitcase. He considered taking a shower, but decided against it, feeling like there was some part of the sea that stuck to him, anyway, something he wasn’t ready to wash away.

Once he was finished packing, double checking that he hadn’t left anything behind, he brought his luggage down to the front desk.

“I’d like to check out early, please,” he said, his heart in his throat. “And if you would please hold my luggage for me, that’d be great.”

“Of course. You’ll still be charged for the extra night, just so you know.” 

“I know. That’s fine.”

The front desk employee slid a paper toward him with the room fees, and he signed it, agreeing to be charged. “You have my card on file, right?”

“Mmhmm. Here’s your receipt. Hope to see you again.” The employee made a quick phone call, and the bellhop and concierge took his luggage, leaving him a ticket so that he could return for it at his leisure.

Alden stopped at the gift shop, looking at the small selection of food and wondering how much he could carry with him. He picked out an orange, a packet of salted cashews, and a small bag of fish-shaped crackers, placing them on the counter. When he heard the gift shop worker’s voice, he realized it was the same woman he had asked about the beach where Saezyel lived, and he avoided her gaze, hoping to get away without a conversation. He wordlessly handed her his card, and she swiped it on the register after typing in the item codes by hand. She handed him the plain paper bag, setting the receipt out for him to sign, which he did, hastily.

She turned her head for a moment to grab his card, then held her hand out to return it to him, but Alden was already gone.

He paused at the exit of the resort, leaning on a fence post, staring out at the road that led to the cove. He stepped out of his sandals, nudging them to the side of the road, and continued on bare feet.

At the entrance to the cove, Alden took off his tank top, hanging it over the limb of a tree. He walked down the shore, but Saezyel was nowhere in sight. Walking to the end of the pier, stopping before the three broken boards, he sat down, crossing his legs, with the food he’d brought in his lap.

“I know you’re still here,” he called out, “come out and see me.”

There was a a low, bubbling noise, and Saezyel rose to the surface, a bit to Alden’s right, farther out toward the ocean. He slowly made his way toward Alden, stopping short of the pier.

“I told you I’d come back. I brought you something.” He leaned on his hands, turning his body to face the side of the pier Saez had come close to.

Saezyel squinted. “What is it?”

“It’s food. You said you wanted to try new things. I don’t know if these things are new to you, but they aren’t fish. Well…” Alden pulled the bag of fish-shaped crackers from his lap, smiling. “They’re shaped like fish, but they’re crackers. They’re crunchy. Here, open your hands.” 

Saez held his wet hands up to Alden, who poured a few fish crackers into them. Saezyel gently took the crackers into his mouth, crunching down on them. He made a delighted sound. “Salty, and… something else. I like them. They don’t taste like fish, though.”

“No, I think they’re flavored with cheese. It’s… uh, a thing made from milk, like the stuff some animals use to feed their young.”

“And… humans eat this? A food made from animal milk?”

“Sure. It sounds weird when you say it like that, but yeah.”

“Can I have more?”

“Of course, I brought them for you.”

Saez moved closer. “Please.” He opened his mouth, sticking out his tongue, and Alden shook most of the rest of the crackers into it, shaking a few into his own mouth and tucking the empty bag into his pocket. Saezyel crunched the crackers, smiling.

“I have two more things, too,” Alden said, grinning and holding up the packet of cashews and the orange. “Which one first?”

“Mmph,” said Saez, swallowing the crackers. He pointed to the orange. “I’ve had that one before. There was a tree that grew over the water, and they would fall in sometimes. I think the tree died, though, because I haven’t seen one in a long time. It’s an orange, right?”

“Yeah.” Alden dug his fingernails into the orange, peeling it, his hands becoming wet with the fragrant orange oil. He offered half to Saez, who delicately took the pieces apart, eating them one at a time, just as Alden began doing shortly thereafter.

“I’m not used to sweet things,” Saez said, shoving another orange slice in his mouth, “but these are good. I’m glad to taste one again, after so long.”

“Is that how you feel about me, too?” Alden replied, his eyes twinkling.

Saezyel took Alden’s hands, licking the juices from his fingertips, kissing them when he was done. “Yes, but I like you better than oranges.”

Alden laughed, opening the packet of cashews, pouring a few into his hand and tossing them into his mouth. “Here, these are cashews. They’re crunchy and salty like the crackers, but they come from a… from a tree, I think, like the oranges.”

Saez opened his mouth like he had for the crackers, and Alden sprinkled a few cashews on his tongue. He chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. “Oh, it’s even more crunchy. A little salty, but a stronger flavor. It’s good.” He smiled, opening his mouth for more, and Alden gave them, eating a few more himself.

“You can have the rest, if you like.”

Saezyel nodded vigorously, and Alden handed him the rest of the cashews, which Saez tore into voraciously until he’d finished the whole packet.

“I wondered if you’d like the salty things, since you’re in this salt water all the time. Do the fish taste salty to you?”

“Oh, sure, but not as much as you’d think. It’s a different kind of salty, too, than the stuff they put on the crackers and the… cashews? Cashews. At least, it tastes different to _me_. But I’m used to the saltiness anyway. It’s the sweetness that tastes odd to me, but I like it anyway.”

Alden took the empty packet back from Saez, tucking it in the pocket of his swim trunks as he had the empty bag of crackers. “Would you mind if I took my swimsuit off? I have the trash in the pockets, see, and I don’t want it to go into the ocean with me.”

Saezyel licked his lips. “Of course not.”

Standing up, Alden hooked his thumbs into his waistband, pushing his swim trunks down, kicking them down the pier toward the shore. He sat on the edge of the pier briefly before jumping down into the cool water, yelping at the shock of it. Saez was next to him in an instant, his arms around Alden, two tentacles gently curling around his legs.

“I’m so glad you came back. And I liked your foods. It was nice of you to think of me like that. I don’t think anyone’s ever done that for me before.”

“I couldn’t help it. I can’t stay away from you. Even before I knew you were here, I was drawn to this place in a way I couldn’t explain.” Alden smiled. “I’d bring you more kinds of foods if I could. They didn’t have much in the gift shop.”

“Maybe next time?”

Alden looked away. “I… don’t know if there will be a next time.”

Saezyel’s face fell, his body sinking slightly in the water. “Oh.”

“No, not like that… look, I just…” Alden swallowed hard. “Let me explain.”

Saez uncurled his tentacles from Alden’s legs, frowning, hurt. “All… all right. I’m listening.”

“I can’t go back to the gift shop. I don’t have any money to buy things with any more. I checked out of the resort already, and I told them to hold my luggage. I went to the gift shop, and I gave her my credit card to buy the foods I brought you, but I didn’t take it back from her. I left all of it behind, back at the resort.”

“I don’t understand. How are you going to leave tomorrow if you don’t have your things?”

Alden took a deep breath. “I decided I can’t leave. I don’t want to leave, I want to stay with you.”

“Alden, if this is a joke, it’s… it’s not funny. I told you about what happened the _last_ time. Please don’t hurt me like this.”

“It’s not a joke. I’m not going back to where I’m from. There’s nothing there that makes me feel like you do. Nothing there that’s worth it to leave you. I mean it. I want to stay.” He hugged Saezyel, closing his eyes tightly for a moment. “If you’ll have me, that is. If you don’t want me to stay, then I’ll… figure it out, I guess. I didn’t really think beyond that.”

Saez pressed his lips tenderly to Alden’s. “Of _course_ I want you to stay. You’ve made me feel _alive_ for the first time in years. Until you showed up, I was just existing.” His eyes teared up. “I just didn’t think you’d ever want to, so I was afraid to even bring it up. After all, we’ve only just met.”

“We _have_ just met, but I swear my heart has known you longer. I just didn’t know it until I saw your face.” Alden smiled, his eyes just as full of tears, and he leaned in to kiss Saez again. “You said that you could… that you made him… like you. Can you do that for me? So that I can breathe underwater, and not have to live on the shore, away from you? I promise you, I _swear_ to you, that I won’t run away from you like he did. It’s not the ocean I want. It’s _you._ ”

“There’s… a way, like I told you. But you’ll have to trust me completely, since it means pulling you underwater before you’ll be able to breathe, and…” Saez bit his lip, “other things.”

“Other things?”

“It’ll feel good, I promise.”

“Oh… _those_ kind of other things?”

“Uh huh. It kind of… overloads all your senses, shocking your body into the change. You’ll see what I mean.”

“I trust you. When can we start?” Alden grinned.

“Now, if you really think you’re ready. If you… really want this. It should go without saying, but there’s no turning back once you’ve changed. You might still be able to go on the land, but you might not.”

“I don’t care if I can go back on land or not, as long as I’m with you. Though I admit, it might be nice to bring you more treats. But we can figure that part out later, too. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I think.”

“Then come with me,” Saezyel said, tugging on Alden’s arm lightly. “We have to go farther out, where the water is deeper.”

Alden nodded, floating along with Saez, kicking his back legs to propel himself, until Saez stopped, not far from the exit out to sea. Saezyel spun Alden around to face him, holding him at a short distance with both hands. Alden felt the tickle of a tentacle between his legs and squirmed.

“Like I said before, this will feel good, but… it will feel strange, too. I will be around you, inside you in almost every way I can be. I’m going to pull you under, and you won’t be able to breathe.” He looked Alden in the eyes. “You won’t be able to escape me. If you trust me, you’ll get through it, but if you don’t, then… I don’t know what will happen.”

Alden nodded. “Let me feel you, then.” He reached down to gently touch Saez’s nearest tentacle. “I’m ready.”

“I’m going to start with your head above water, then,” Saez said quietly, stroking Alden’s half-hard cock with a tentacle, “and I’ll pull you under when it’s time.” 

“That--that sounds fine to me--”

“Finding it hard to think already?” Saezyel chuckled, tugging a little more firmly on Alden’s cock, snaking a second tentacle between his legs to tease his entrance. “Does it feel different, out here, compared to when we were on the shore?”

“It’s… you feel wonderful, and…” Alden gasped as Saezyel entered him, “a-and it does feel different, but I like the feeling of being suspended in the water, held only by you, and…”

His words were cut off by the rush of water as Saezyel pulled him under, a third tentacle entering his mouth, a fourth curling around his midsection, constricting tightly, squeezing the air out of him, his breath escaping his nose in a thousand tiny bubbles. His eyes opened in shock, and all he could concentrate on was Saezyel’s adoring face and his cock caught in the grasp of a tentacle, until he felt a rush of something into his throat, forcibly swallowing it, his body suddenly rigid, in the throes of orgasm, black spots forming before his eyes, and then…

The next thing Alden knew, he was in Saez’s arms again, safe, and the water was so deep he couldn’t see much beyond the halo of Saez’s dark hair framing his warm, smiling face. Saez nodded gently.

They were underwater, they were _still_ underwater, and Alden was _breathing_ somehow. It had worked.

He tried to talk, to say something to Saezyel, but all that came out was a burst of bubbles, and Saez laughed, pulling him to the surface.

“How do you feel?”

Alden clung to Saez, coughing a little as his lungs breathed in the sea air. “I… it… I can breathe down there, now, but… how? Where?” He looked down at his body, which looked mostly the same, though his fingertips were now very lightly tinged with blue, and the sides of his wrists now had tiny fins attached, though he wasn’t sure if they were useful or just for decoration.

“You’ve probably never noticed my gills, but I have them. That’s why I can breathe above or below the water. Here.” Saezyel took one of Alden’s hands and gently placed it at his waist, just above where his human flesh changed to his tentacled lower half. Alden felt a fluttering there, and something that felt almost like a very light suction. “See? My gills. They’re more or less flat against my body when they’re above the surface.”

“Does that mean that I have gills, too?”

“Mmhmm, but they’re not in the same place.” Saez pulled Alden close, planting tiny kisses along his jawline and ending with a nip on his ear. “Here,” he whispered, gently kissing down his neck, darting his tongue out to lick along the newly formed gills. Alden shivered.

“That feels… strange, but… kind of good…?”

Saez blew lightly against the gills, and Alden gasped.

“Want me to do it again?”

“Uh huh.”

Fluttering his tongue against Alden’s gills, Saezyel felt him squirm. “Maybe I should stop. For now.”

Alden grinned sheepishly. “Maybe. I mean… we’ve got time, after all.” He moved his legs in the water, discovering that his ankles had small fins similar to the ones on his wrists. “But then… what do we do now?”

Saez licked his lips and gave Alden a kiss on the cheek. “More swimming lessons?”

They both laughed.

“I guess I have a lot to learn, don’t I? About living out here, learning to catch food, the dangers of underwater life.”

“There’s not much dangerous here in the cove, but yes. Occasionally the jellyfish will accidentally drift in here, but they won’t sting you unless you bother them. They’re not good to eat, anyway, so I usually just steer them back out to the ocean. Anything much bigger and toothier than that won’t try to come through the rocks, but jellyfish aren’t very smart.”

Alden took Saezyel’s hands in his. “I want you to show me everything. Show me where you sleep, what kinds of seaweed taste best. Show me how to tell which way the currents flow, how the tides change, how to communicate underwater, how to navigate without seeing the sun and moon and stars. Everything.”

Misty-eyed, Saez smiled and nodded. “I’ll show you everything I can. All you need to do is ask.” He beckoned, moving toward the center of the cove. “Since it was first on your list… follow me.” He dove underwater, the tips of his tentacles briefly breaking the surface before following, and Alden swam after him, with a little more effort. At the bottom of the cove, amid the gently waving seaweed, there was a long, flat rock, partially covered in sand at one end, and blowing out the air he’d breathed on the surface, Saezyel lowered himself to the rock, smiling at Alden, pulling him close. He pressed his hands together and held them to the side of his head, closing his eyes in imitation of sleep, then opened his eyes and nodded again.

He pointed upward, and the two of them rose to the surface.

“That… it’s beautiful down there! I’ve never seen so many shades of green, and the light from above was… it was… lovely.”

“Your vision is adapting, too,” said Saez. “It would have looked more dull to you before, I think. Does the feeling of the salt water bother your eyes?”

Alden shook his head. “No, not anymore. Really, though, I think it only bothered me that first time I saw you, and only for a second.”

“Maybe you were already part fish and just didn’t know it.”

“In that case, maybe I was fated to meet you.”

They clasped both hands together, floating silently in the water for a moment before they pressed their lips to one another, feather-light and gentle.

“Is there anything else you want to see right away?”

Alden glanced at the exit of the cove. “Well, I… I admit that I’d like to see what’s out there. Not… not that I want to leave you. I’ve just never been that far out to sea before, except on a boat. I’ve only been to the beach, really, and this isn’t much farther.” He squeezed Saez’s hands. “You said you don’t know what’s out there… _who’s_ out there. Maybe it’s time to find out.”

“I… I have been here, alone, for a long time…”

“We can always come back.”

Saez took a deep breath. “Part of what kept me here was the fact that I was alone. This place is familiar, and I know every rock, every leaf. It’s… comforting. I guess I’m afraid of change as much as anyone, but…”

“But…?”

“But _you’re_ here, now, and you’ve already changed everything.” He smiled. “And with you, I’m no longer alone.”

“What are you saying?” Alden tilted his head.

“I’m _saying…_ ” Saezyel swam a little toward the exit of the cove. He gestured with his chin. “I’m _saying,_ let’s go.”

They raced each other to the exit, laughing all the way, an endless stream of bubbles flowing behind them both, the sun in the distance once again beginning to set.


End file.
